Lord Brian Griffiths of Fforestfach is a vice chairman at Goldman Sachs Intl., a life peer under England's nobility scheme, and Christian theorist of "biblically based wealth creation." Just the man to explain how Goldman's taxpayer-financed bonuses are perfectly moral.

At a panel discussion in London yesterday, Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach gently unraveled the moral knot that has flummoxed so many of us lesser souls as we struggle to grapple with a reason that federally subsidized banks should be paying out an anticipated $23 billion in bonuses to people who are already wealthy beyond reason while nearly 10% of the nation is unemployed: "We have to tolerate the inequality as a way to achieve greater prosperity and opportunity for all."

Well put, sir! For instance: Even if you don't have a job, you'd probably have even less of a job—negative employment!—if Goldman Sachs weren't using the money that it made by leveraging the taxes that the feds take out of your unemployment check to pay billions of dollars to people like Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach, a vice chair for Goldman Sachs International and adviser to Goldman's domestic American operation. And the record number of Americans on food stamps—32 million—would almost certainly not be enjoying the level of "prosperity and opportunity for all" that they currently benefit from if not for that commodities trader who will get $25 million this year.

In fairness, Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach did acknowledge that the the beneficiaries of taxpayer-financed bonus payouts do have moral obligations:

"To whom much is given much is expected," he said. "There is a sense that if you make money you are expected to give."